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R-Type Remake Creator: Downloadable Game Market 'A Godsend'
by Staff [PC, Console/PC]
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June 11, 2009
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Talking as part of an in-depth look at downloadable classic game remakes, the creators of XBLA title R-Type Dimensions have explained why the "one flop and you're... out" model has been radically changed by downloadable content.
Swedish company Southend Interactive has been using its classic remake projects with Seattle-based firm Tozai, such as R-Type Dimensions and the recently-released Lode Runner, as a way of financing their own, more innovative projects.
Southend CEO Anders Jeppsson describes this as a liberating shift in the industry. "This new niche of smaller downloadable games was a godsend to many smaller developers a few years ago, when, at the time, there was no real way to sign a game under five to 10 million dollars."
"One flop and you're basically out at that price... And spending three-plus years on the same game was definitely killing a lot of the creativity in the business."
The executive continues: "So, for us, XBLA, PSN, and VC is a fantastic way to continue to do what we love most: develop small, tight, well polished gems for the masses."
Concerning the download platform as a viable alternative, Tozai's Sheila Boughten says, "If a title like R-Type Dimensions came out at retail, it would probably at the lowest be $19.99 or $24.99 out of pocket for the consumer."
She concludes that "there would just be no way to get it out at retail without taking a loss", showing the power of downloadable games to shift business models in today's game industry.
The full Gamasutra feature on the subject also talks to Street Fighter HD Remix creator Backbone Entertainment and Bionic Commando Re-Armed makers GRIN about the circumstances behind the rise of the downloadable classic game remake.
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Looking at the other side of the coin: even if you get greenlighted, get SDK and spend next 12 months developing and few more months finalizing your product for the release... LOOK BACK. 18 months have passed since you've started and you've just released... a $10 arcade game. WOW! It only took you 18 months to finish it, while ngmoco rolled out many games by that time with little hassle.
And then compare to that random XBCG success that actually brought $50k back in shorter time frame with smaller products.
Again, it's your decision whether to stay with 1y+ dev cycles or choose freedom.
What exactly did you mean by this?
From what you say it seems that the open PC Indie market is still a better place to get started making games even with the threat of the rampant piracy. Once an Indie developer is successful there they can then move over to XBL and the PSN. I would suppose.
http://forums.indiegamer.com/showthread.php?t=17071
And the answer is no.
Either you make a great game and it gets picked up everywhere or you are stuck with your $20 indie product that nobody wants to take for distribution and it barely sells. Don't believe the whole concept "well, just make more games and a lot of crap will start cross-promoting each other". Have ambitions, aim for controversial settings, great visuals OR stylized visuals (e.g. cellshading physics game) - don't try to make "just another FPS but it will be cooler than CoD4!!!11"
You could be more lucky with casual games if you manage to rip-off some top10 game in 4 months, but you really have to study that industry for a while, it's going in weird directions with their price drop schemes...